1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of detecting a flight obstacle in the surroundings of an aircraft, in particular an unmanned aircraft, wherein at least two images of at least one respective part of the surroundings are recorded, the flight obstacle is detected from the images and provided with an identification, and a signal associated with the identification is outputted in a ground station.
The invention further concerns an apparatus for detecting a flight obstacle in the surroundings of an aircraft, in particular an unmanned aircraft, comprising at least one camera unit for recording at least a part of the surroundings and an evaluation apparatus for detecting the flight obstacle and associating an identification with the flight obstacle.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
EP 1 296 213 A1 discloses a method of representing a flying object, wherein a space surrounding an unmanned aircraft is recorded by a number of cameras and the images are sent to a ground station and represented for a ground control pilot on a display. The ground control pilot can control the aircraft on the basis of the represented images, in which respect his attention is drawn to flying objects in the proximity of the aircraft by auxiliary means such as for example flashing symbols in the represented image. Continuous active observation of electronically generated images in which a flying object can only be occasionally detected is however very tiring for a ground control pilot so that he can take account of his responsibility for the safety of the aircraft in respect of a collision warning only with a considerable amount of concentration over a long period of time.